DEMOCRACY & ELECTIONS In Costa Rica, an Easter surprise sees voters reject a conservative firebrand

Sunday’s presidential election will likely go down as one of the strangest in Costa Rican history. Not only did it signal the continuing decay of the country’s once-hailed party system, it saw voters choose between two markedly diverse candidates: Carlos Alvarado, 38, from the incumbent Citizens’ Action Party (PAC), and Fabricio Alvarado (no relation to Carlos), 43, from the Party of National Restoration (RN).